Sri Lanka coordinated the rescue of 40 Iranian sailors aboard several commercial ships in international waters off the country’s coast and supported their return to Iran, a spokesperson for the island nation’s foreign ministry said on Sunday.
The ministry received a request from the Iranian embassy through diplomatic channels to rescue the sailors, said Thurshara Rodrigo, a ministry spokeswoman, adding that they were suffering from unspecified medical emergencies.
The ministry did not give further details on why they had to be rescued, but local media, including India’s national newspaper The Hindu, indicated that they were on board vessels that were U.S.-sanctioned oil tankers.
Washington has imposed a blockade on Iranian shipping as part of its war against Iran.
Sailors from the 19 ships were disembarked at Galle port, about 126 km from the commercial capital Colombo, and received medical treatment before returning to Iran early Sunday morning, the spokesperson added.
Sri Lanka’s navy and coast guard usually provide support during humanitarian efforts, said a government source with direct knowledge of the rescue. Reuters.
Earlier this year, Sri Lanka rescued dozens of Iranian sailors on humanitarian grounds after the Iranian warship IRIS Dena was sunk by a torpedo launched by a US submarine on March 4.
The bodies of more than 80 sailors who died in the attack were repatriated to Iran in mid-March. Thirty-two survivors from the sunken ship, along with 208 crew members from another ship, were returned to Iran in April.
Gn world
